Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you had a great day and spent it with the ones you love. Christmas is all about Jesus and celebrating his birth and the things he has done for us in our lives.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year for many reasons. I love the festivities and all the decorations people put up. It's great because there is a whole Christmas season, not just Christmas Day. So you get to feel the Christmas spirit all the way up until Christmas, and even a little while after. It seems we are much more kind and caring during the Christmas season than any other time. I think this is because Christmas is a time when we are doing things for others, and so we are more inclined to help and give more to people than during another time.

In my church class a few weeks ago, we were talking about how we can keep the spirit of Christmas all year, not just during the Christmas season. We talked about giving gifts to Jesus because of all the things he has done for us. Some of the gifts we can give Jesus all year long is service, obedience, kindness, love, etc.

Earlier this month The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out with a video called He is the Gift. I really enjoy this video because it talks about the ultimate gift that was given to us which is the Savior Jesus Christ. After the video was published, people began to post things on social media using #sharethegift. I think this is a great idea because it is a great way for people to share what gift they are going to give to Jesus this next year. My family had a Family Home Evening lesson on this. (Family Home Evening is a time when families can spend time together and learn more about each other and the gospel). We watched the video and then each wrote the gift we were going to give Jesus this year. I posted mine on Instagram and got a great response. I love that social media can be used for good, positive purposes.

I just saw this really great quote from the LDS President, Thomas S. Monson that says "The spirit of Christmas is indeed the Christ spirit." I hope I always remember to keep the spirit of Christ and Christmas with me throughout the year. What do you do to try and keep the spirit of Christmas?


 Always have hope,